


Walk Out Alone

by wrack



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Bars and Pubs, Choking, Drinking, Dysfunctional Relationships, Emotional Manipulation, Felix | Isaac Gates Being a Dick, Ficlet, M/M, POV Outsider, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-12-21 07:31:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21071195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wrack/pseuds/wrack
Summary: Felix and Locus' relationship makes no sense to anyone but themselves. Siris found that out the hard way.





	Walk Out Alone

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hokuto](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hokuto/gifts).

> **More detailed content note**: In addition to the tags above, Felix taunts/provokes Locus by making jabs at his mental health.

Siris didn't follow them outside. He'd seen the set of Locus' shoulders as they got up to leave; even if he hadn't caught a glimpse of Felix's expression before the lights flickered again, that would have been warning enough. The only real surprise was that none of them had stormed out sooner. Nothing he'd seen, heard or smelled since walking through the door had shaken Siris' conviction that Felix had gone through a list of the worst dives in New Accra and picked out the one he thought his partners would hate most. If that was the plan, it had backfired. By the end of it, he'd been angrier than the two of them put together. He'd just sat there with his glass skewed at an angle, dripping perfectly good swill onto the counter. The worst part had been his smile: pleasant and toothless, as if he had a knife hidden behind his back. 

No, Siris didn't follow them. That would have been a terrible idea. But it was too hot, and his sleeve kept sticking to the bar, and the man at the other end of it had pushed past the distraction to start up again. “When I was on Tantalus -“

“Yeah, right,” the woman at his elbow said, to murmurs of agreement. “You never got within a hundred light years of Tantalus, Whitnall.”

“Even if I didn't,” Whitnall said, undeterred, “even if – you know what I'd have done if I had?” The muttering rose in volume. One or two soft jeers sounded underneath it. “You know – just fucking let me talk, Rosen! You know what? I wouldn't have run away. That's what they did. I know. Just ran away with the split-lips hanging off their tails and got themselves wiped out anyway.”

Siris put his glass down and pushed his stool back. He'd meant to do both quietly, but the noise caught everyone's attention. They didn't stop staring the way they had when Ortez – no, when Locus had glanced back at them, either. The distance between bar and door stretched into infinity. Without warning, it collapsed; he caught himself just before he stumbled into the frame. Had Felix been trying to get all three of them killed? There was no other explanation for his unexpected generosity when it came to buying rounds.

It was still far too hot. The ground pitched up to meet his toes, then rolled away beneath his heel. All he wanted was a nice quiet wall to lean against, preferably nowhere near the small cluster of evicted patrons who'd taken over the porch. One of them was already casting a professional eye over him and his shiny, well-kept gear. He could take them, he thought, even minus teammates and plus a lot of alcohol burning its way through his veins – but there was no sense in stumbling into a fight, not if it could be avoided. A few steps in the opposite direction took him round a corner, where an alley yawned wide in front of him. Nobody was following him, but every one of his senses still screamed not to let himself get backed in there. He would have retreated, if not for the familiar voices.

“...cramping my style in there.” Felix, of course. “Can you blame me if I want to let off steam some other way?”

“You,” Locus said, cool enough to make Siris shiver in the heat, “are an unpleasant drunk.”

“I guess he might have gotten lucky,” Felix said, voice so soft now Siris had to strain to hear it. “Maybe you'd have frozen up instead, gone wherever the fuck you go when that happens. It's always fun trying to predict what kind of crazy you'll -”

There was a low grunt, followed by the unmistakable sound of someone gasping for air. Siris threw himself around the corner and staggered to a halt, scrabbling at the wall for balance. There was enough light to see that Locus had Felix by the throat. His face was illuminated briefly as he leaned forward, putting it closer to Felix's own, and – was he baring his teeth? Yes, he was; his lips were drawn right back against them, as if he were about to bite Felix's nose off. If the situation hadn't been so dire, Siris might almost have laughed. He could have sworn he hadn't made a sound, but he must have done; Locus' head shot up and he stepped forward, bringing Felix with him. They made eye contact. Another wave of lightheadedness washed over Siris, and he put his hand on the slimy bricks to steady himself. It felt like passing by a shipboard window when you were new to space travel, your brain shouting at you to step back before you tumbled into emptiness. He should have stopped after that second drink. Felix twisted around, the grip on his throat now loose enough to allow it, and that was worse. He _smiled_ at Siris, just hung there grinning at him as if he'd been caught in some minor misdemeanour. One of his hands came up to cover Locus', but he made no attempt to break free of the hold. 

“Go back inside, Wu,” Locus said. He sounded tired, hollow. The name shook Siris out of his stupor. He ought to do something. He ought to make sure they were both all right – though who he'd check on first, he didn't know – but Felix's smirk and Locus' eyes combined sent him stumbling out of the alley. The light that filtered through the bar's grimy windows looked a lot more appealing than it had before. He needed to sit down. He might even have another drink, just to banish the image of Felix smiling at him with Locus' hands wrapped round his neck.

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little fic to celebrate... Felix and Locus Being Terrible Day (a very real occasion that I did not at all just make up). I hope you enjoyed! ♥
> 
> Title is from "I Don't Want Love" by The Antlers, which is a Felix/Locus jam if ever I heard one.


End file.
